An alternate cast of up-and-coming actors prove themselves very bit the equal of the main cast I raved about when reviewing the opening night performance of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar at Theatre 68.

A bravura Leif Gantvoort returns as novelist-turned-magazine correspondent Leonard (Leif Gantvoort), whose early critical acclaim and accompanying fame have long ago faded, but life does tend to go on.

As long as would-be writers remain so desperate to publish that they will willingly fork over $5000 a head for a mere ten weekly sessions, that’s cash in the bank for Leonard and easy money at that since none of these sessions seem to last more than a matter of minutes.

The faces may be different in Seminar’s four scheduled alternate cast performances, but the characters (and the caliber of work being done on the Theatre 68 stage) remain the same.

These are:

Kate (Sierra Nowak), whose old-money family’s nine-room rent-controlled (at a mere $800-a-month) Upper West Side apartment serves as the group’s meeting place.

Kate’s longtime chum Martin (Nick Samson), so strapped for cash that he persuades her to let him occupy one of her Central Park-view rooms rent-free and so shy about his talent that he will let no one see his work.

Douglas (Taylor Matorana), a preppy type who’s got family connections to the artists’ community Yaddo and an ego (though not necessarily talent) to match.

Post-teen temptress Izzy (Marali Natalia), whose writing skills and considerable pulchritude captivate Leonard, albeit perhaps not in that order.

Director Jeremy Luke elicits stellar performances from all concerned including a returning Gandvoort, recent winner of an Outstanding Lead Actor Scenie for his complex, commanding star turn as Leonard. (Luke scored a Scenie win too for his razor-sharp direction.)

A captivating Novak’s girl-next-door perkiness (think Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally) make her a perfect choice to play Kate; Matorana makes the most of Douglas’s amusingly obnoxious name-dropping and his frustrations at perhaps not living up to his family legacy; and Natalia’s Mediterranean beauty is matched by talent and smarts, which is why it’s no wonder Izzy drives the cast’s three male members wild.

 Most memorable of all is Samson’s Martin (think a young Patrick Dempsey), a dynamic stage presence with TV star potential, whose eleventh-hour showdown with Gantvoort’s Leonard is as riveting as showdowns get.

As any casting director can tell you, it’s not just finding the best actor-character fit that matters but also casting actors who mesh with their fellow players, and director Luke deserves kudos for both.

As enamored as I was by Leonard’s first quartet of victims on opening night, I found myself just as quickly falling for their alternates a few weeks later.

Anyone doubting just how much up-and-coming talent there is in Los Angeles need only check out Seminar at Theatre 68. Those lucky enough to see it performed by both casts can count themselves fortunate times two.

Theatre 68, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Final alternate-cast performance Sunday July 26 at 2:00.
https://rb.gy/g8j9m0

–Steven Stanley
July 25, 2024